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adamport

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USB Problem

I have a USB printer and use USB to connect to the internet on my computer. I was using both of those last night and shut down the computer properly. When I went on to the computer today I found that ALL of the USB connections didnt work. WHat has happened?? They were working the night before!!

Please help. This is urgent.

(as you've probibaly guessed, I'm using another computer at the minute for the internet).
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Callandor
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I think you should check if your USB port controller setting got changed so that it has been turned off in device manager.  You may also have overwritten the drivers with some other software, so I recommend that you reinstall the USB patch.  If this is WinXP, the patch is here: http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=822603
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Aramis11

It does not sound like you did anything particular to cause the failure.  I had all the USB sockets of my mainboard go dead for no apparent reason and ended up installing a USB PCI board as the most expedient solution.  You may want to check the BIOS for an enable setting just in case.  Also once found a parallel port disabled while sorting out a scanner problem, and I had not altered that BIOS setting.  If you have a voltmeter you can check to see if one of the USB pins has power; I seem to recall it being 5V.  
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That update fix doesnt work, I think it doesnt have any power in them because windows claims that the device is working properly but is not detecting that I have connected anything to the computer. Secondly, I also have two other USB ports connected to the mother board through two wiresand these dont work either. If its a blown fuse is there any way to fix it??
No, USB ports don't have fuses.  If your motherboard ports no longer work, you can try adding new ones with a PCI USB card: http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=15-102-008&depa=0
All of the other ports work fine, its just the USB ones, what could have happened??
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pkaanapu

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If one of the USB ports got a voltage surge, it could knock out the USB controller enough so that it looks ok in device manager but doesn't work.  This is one of those not well-defined problems that makes it hard to troubleshoot.
I'm using XP Professional. I can really explain any more all I know is that it says it fine in device manager, also stating that no power is being consumed even whan i plug a device into usb. Its not just the USB connections build into the mother board, its also the other two I have which are connected directly into the motherboard with wires. They are not working either.
That's why I said it's the USB controller, as opposed to ports.  The USB controller handles all signals from the USB ports - if it's gone, none of the USB ports will work.
Uninstall your usb ports and reinstall them. Go to device manager and remove everything under universal serial bus controllers. Make sure no devices are plugged in. Better yet do if from safe mode. Restart your computer and let them redetect, after that test again.
That hardware arrangement sounds similar to mine; two USB sockets on the main board in back and two in the front of the case (under a little plastic hood) connected with wires.  All four quit at the same time.  Could have been a lightning strike like the one that fried a cable modem.  Those PCI USB boards can even be had from some of the office supply stores.
Before you buy, reset the CMOS/BIOS settings for the mainboard. T
Try this:
unplug all usb devices.
unplug pc power cable
leave unplugged for 30secs-1 minute
Plug everything back in and see what you get.
Some PCs I've used require disconnecting from power before their devices will restart. I see this most often with usb devices esp. keyboards.
Sorry about the delay in replying, It was really simple after all, pkaanapu gave me the answer. All I did was go into safe mode and uninstall the usb ports and let windows reinstall them again!!. Thanks everyone else for trying to help.